Blackstone's earnings outshine real estate

NEW YORK

NEW YORK Jan 31 Blackstone Group LP
reported a 43 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday,
capping what it called its best year as a publicly listed
alternative asset manager, despite a lackluster performance by
its flagship real estate business.

Blackstone, the first to report fourth-quarter results in a
pier group that includes KKR & Co LP, Carlyle Group LP
and Apollo Global Management LLC, said earnings
rose strongly in its private equity, hedge funds and credit
units.

Blackstone, whose investments include The Weather Channel,
Pinnacle Foods and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, said economic
net income (ENI), a metric of its profitability takes into
account the current market valuation of its portfolio, was $670
million, up 43 percent from a year ago.

ENI in its real estate division was down 2 percent to $246
million.

Distributable earnings, which show cash available to pay
dividends, jumped 177 percent to $493.8 million.

Total assets under management were $210.2 billion as of the
end of December, up from $204.6 billion at the end of the third
quarter. Fee-earning assets under management were $167.9 billion
at the end of December, down from $168.6 billion at the end of
the third quarter.

Blackstone declared a quarterly distribution of 42 cents per
common unit. It said it intends to increase its base quarterly
distribution to 12 cents per unit in 2013, up from 10 cents per
unit.